Duties

Tim Tebow, whose off-the-field actions practically transcend what he's done on the field, headlined the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team in 2009 . This year, another Florida Gator has a chance to be honored for his work in the community. Florida running back Jeff Demps is one of 112 nominees for the award across the country, and one of only two players from the state of Florida (the other is Florida State's Christian Ponder). Demps is best known for his breakaway speed and ability to churn out big play after big play.

Scott Williams, a state championship boys basketball coach who left Wekiva to take the same job at nearby Apopka four months ago, has been fired before coaching a game for the Blue Darters. Williams said an investigation by Orange County Public Schools led to his dismissal by Apopka Principal Doug Guthrie. "A complaint was raised regarding my time at Wekiva," Williams said on Friday. "I can't give you specifics, because I'm continuing to work with the county for a resolution that I hope would enable me to continue coaching at Apopka.

Yes, teacher Jan Hall deserves due process, but how anyone could argue for her to remain in a classroom after expressing such negative and hostile attitudes is an enigma to me. She is derelict of her most basic duties. Before any learning can occur, a teacher must provide a psychologically secure and supportive classroom environment. I wouldn't want her teaching my goldfish. Shelby Morrison Orlando

Roger Dale Tome joined Kennedy Space Center's Fire Department amid the Apollo era. He was part of the astronaut-rescue-and-recovery team and played an integral role in heading emergency-rescue operations overseas. Tome worked at the Fire Department for more than 40 years and enjoyed being a part of the NASA program. His last day at the Fire Department was Feb. 9. The next day, while on his routine afternoon run in Windermere, Tome died. He was 71. Tome was born in Cleveland and moved with his family to Orlando as a toddler.

There is an ethical principle that should apply to this election fiasco: For every right there is a corresponding duty. Just as it is the right of every citizen to vote, so it is his or her duty to read the rules and follow the directions. It is time for people to take responsibility for their own actions. I am sure that in four years they will be more careful. Carol Metzger Longwood

The United States ruled Friday against stainless steel wire producers in six countries and imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties on their products. The Commerce Department set duties of up to 36 percent on imports of stainless steel wire from Canada, India, Japan, Korea, Spain and Taiwan, the U.S. Stainless Wire Action Committee said. A group of domestic manufacturers had petitioned the department in March about the imports, charging the foreign makers with unfairly pricing their wire.

Republican presidential contender Bob Dole is expected to announce today that he will relinquish many of his duties as majority leader to concentrate on campaigning.Dole, who is trailing President Clinton in the polls, has been criticized by members of his party for spending too much time on Senate business and not enough time explaining to voters why he should be president.While Dole made no comment Tuesday, campaign aides did not dispute reports that the senator would announce he is ready to drop many of his official duties.

Question: How much authority does a condominium association manager have as far as signing his or her name as the manager to documents and letters requesting financial information of prospective buyers? Does the manager have the authority to open a prospective buyer's application before turning it over to the association? Answer: A manager receives the rights and duties from the board, and this could include signing documents and checks and it could include reviewing files received to ensure the packages are completed.

After watching Terry Dean and Winter Garden's Brian Fox battle the last two weeks for backup quarterback duties behind Shane Matthews, University of Florida coach Steve Spurrier said he still can't decide between the two - so they're going to be co-No. 2s.''We feel like both of them are capable backup performers and just feel that depending on the situation as the game progresses, I don't know who will go in there,'' Spurrier said. ''Right now there's no clear-cut No. 2, but they're both ready to play.

The European Community Thursday put the brakes on allegedly underpriced Chinese mountain bikes and other bicycles, slapping permanent duties of 30.6 percent on exports to the 12 EC nations. The duties will be effective starting Saturday, according to the EC's official journal. They replace provisional duties of 34.4 percent imposed in March. Local manufacturers complained that the Chinese bikes were undermining their market, an allegation backed by the EC's Executive Commission in its ruling.

There are nearly 41,000 sworn law-enforcement officers who work full-time in Florida, and line-of-duty deaths involving gunfire occur occasionally. Jonathan Scott Pine is the first deputy to be shot to death in Florida this year. The last time a law-enforcement officer was gunned down in Orange County was in 2010. Deputy Sheriff Brandon Coates was shot twice in the head Dec. 8, 2010 by felon Brandon Lyals during a traffic stop in a dangerous neighborhood off Orange Blossom Trail.

Olivia Sprauer taught ninth-grade English in Martin County until she was fired. Her offense: moonlighting as a bikini model. Faced with an ultimatum - resign or be suspended - Ashley Payne, a Georgia teacher, quit her job. Why? School officials were apoplectic after seeing Facebook photos of her hoisting a pint of Guinness during a summer European vacation. Scott Janke wasn't canned as Fort Myers Beach Town Manager over performance. Rather Janke had married a porn star. What each scenario - and similar cases - share is this: jobs were lost over private, lawful, off-duty behavior.

When a duo of holiday grinches stole presents that were meant for a 4-year-old girl earlier this month, deputies brought in Sheriff's Office K-9s to track down the suspects. A deputy German shepherd who had a keener sense of smell that his human counterpart tracked the men and found them hiding in a tree. Within minutes, the suspects were arrested. This time, everything happened just as it should and the dogs, officers and suspects were safe. But that's not always the way it works for the brave pups who become law-enforcement K-9s - and after 12 years working with the Orange County Sheriff's Office K-9 unit, Sgt. David Stephens knows that first hand.

A child protection investigator for the Department of Children and Families was arrested Thursday after police say he used his position of authority to threaten a mother then raped her twice while on duty. The woman told Lakeland police that she met Jason Montgomery after he had been assigned to investigate a case involving her son. During a home visit last year, the woman said Montgomery told her that she "needed" to have sex with him. After she initially refused, the woman said Montgomery, who had worked for DCF about two years, threatened to remove her children from her home.

The European Commission said Wednesday it was imposing duties of up to almost 100 percent on Japanese television cameras and equipment imported into the European Community. The Commission said it had investigated complaints by EC manufacturers and was imposing ''anti-dumping'' duties because of evidence of ''persistent price undercutting.'' A duty of 97 percent would apply generally to imports from Japan but specific duties of 49.9 percent, 70.8 percent and 86.4 percent would be imposed on imports of equipment made by Hitachi Denshi Ltd, Sony Corp.

Gov. Robert P. Casey plans to resume his duties in early December, nearly six months after he underwent a heart-liver transplant, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday. The newspaper quoted unidentified administration sources as saying he plans to return before Dec. 15, the last scheduled day of the year for the state Legislature.

UCF WR J.J. Worton will once again be counted on to return punts this season. Worton was a first-team all-Conference USA selection as a punt returner in 2012, averaging 10.6 yards per return last season. This preseason, Worton said he has been helped by Knights coach Sean Beckton , who returned punts during his time as a player at UCF. Beckton ranks atop the Knights' all-time list for most punt return yardage in a game (158) and average yards per punt return in a game (19.8)